Four freshmen at North Hunterdon High School have been named “global gurus” following the school’s Global Literacies Challenge on Jan. 10.

Matthew Gregory of Union Township, Abigail Johnson of Franklin Township, Cara Shannon of Bethlehem Township, and Jacob Willsey of Clinton Township were the top team among more than 200 students who completed the school’s Advanced Academic Literacies (AAL) course during the first semester of the 2012-13 school year. The team’s name was A.S.I.A, which stood for Asian Sightseeing Incorporation of America.

Near the end of each semester, students enrolled in the required Advanced Academic Literacies half-year course work together as teams to create a mock adventure tour company, complete with tour itinerary, list of activities, and possible hotel and dining options. The adventure tours are then described through a colorful brochure, PowerPoint presentation, and mock website. A panel of North Hunterdon teachers chooses the top three team finalists based on the quality of the students’ portfolios of work.

The finalists present their adventure tours to all AAL students during an assembly in the auditorium. Students, faculty members, and administrators in the audience vote on which team should be chosen as the winner of the Global Literacies Challenge. This semester’s winning team, A.S.I.A., created an adventure tour that took travelers on a journey to China, Japan and Thailand, which they sold to the audience through their inventive presentation and company logo of “let us give you a ride to the other side.”

The team’s teacher, Ms. Erin Erwin, had the following to say about her students: “Asian Sightseeing Incorporation of America set high standards for themselves from day one. They decided as a team that they wanted to win, so they collaborated on every assignment and included all team members in the group’s decisions. Although they were the only team with four members in the class while everyone else had five, they never let this deter them from completing their work on time and to the best of their ability. I am extremely proud of this group as they exceeded my expectations.”

The Advanced Academic Literacies course trains students in a variety of literacy skills that they can apply throughout their academic and professional careers, including reading, writing, listening, speaking, research, science, economics, technology, mathematics, visual, global and multicultural studies. The culmination of the course is the development of the mock adventure tour companies.